Will Amazon Really Employ "Delivery Drones" In the Near Future?

By SheSpeaksTeam Dec 04, 2013

Ever thought you could order products online and get them delivered about as fast as you might get a pizza sent to your home? After Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ recent unveiling of “drone delivery” on a recent episode of “60 Minutes” everyone has been buzzing about what this could mean for consumers in coming years.

Questions quickly arose of whether the delivery drone, which resembles a toy helicopter with numerous propellers, will be safe and how long it will take to hit the market. CNN spoke with drone expert and one of the Navy’s first female fighter pilots, Missy Cummings, about the logistics of Amazon employing delivery drones in the near future.

Bezos said though unlikely there is a possibility we could see the delivery drones in action as early as 2015, but Cummings thinks this is a bit optimistic. Since the Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t been quick to support drones in the past, Cummings thinks Amazon may have to jump through a lot of hoops before they sign off. She explains, “I think they (Amazon) are stepping out in a typically naive way, (but) maybe they have some secret insight to the FAA that I don't have.”

Who will be the first to see these deliveries and what will be on board the “octocopters” as Bezos called them has more to do with how close you are to the Amazon distribution sites and how heavy your item to be delivered is. Bezos explains that the delivery drones currently can hold up to 5 pounds and have a 10-mile radius, so if you are close enough to a distribution center you may be able to have lightweight products delivered to your door (and hopefully not your roof) within about 30 minutes of ordering them.

What do you think of Amazon using delivery drones for quick deliveries in the future?

Do you think delivery drones will be in use in the near future or do you think this type of technology won’t go public for a while?

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Comments

by Kay3131 | New York, NY

Dec 04, 2013

Agree... also, I can imagine a crop of modern-day Katnisses, trying to shoot them out of the sky. But I do applaud the imagination and efforts, because sooner or later, something great will come out of it!

by peaches1313 | El Paso, TX

Dec 04, 2013

I believe that this would be an amazing advancement in making it more about the ease to the consumer but lets look at a few other factors in this theory. What would happen when the weather is bad such as thunderstorms or heavy winds? They would not be able to use cardboard boxes unless there was a piece that the box gets put into but even then the winds could damage the drone if not put it down completely. Its is a cool idea but I think there are too many variables to make this possible.

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